I have a half written post on Vancouver but we’ve just come back from a relaxing holiday in Barcelona and we visited a fantastic Japanese cafe for the first time on our last night and I just needed to share it with you. It’s Usagui (Japanese for rabbit) in St Gervasi and we do love it so! The cafe is larger than I expected, taking up what appears to be a converted cellar. There’s plenty of seating, the music isn’t too loud, the food is excellent – it’s everything I need in a cafe!
We visited on a Saturday night – I, Blai, and Blai’s mother; it was quite busy but not especially crowded – this may be explained by it being holiday season. We started with tea. This was my kikucha (a green tea with stems) while Blai and his mother had hojicha (a roasted green tea). I was particularly impressed by the care the staff took to ensure that the water was at the correct temperature for each tea – hotter for the hojicha than the kikucha apparently).
Between the three of us, we split two dishes for supper. First there was an oyakodon, the classic chicken and egg donburi which was executed perfectly here, with the egg still a little on the runny side.
There was also omusoba, listed on the menu as yakisoba with the optional egg, and again, here, it was fantastic.
I wasn’t going to leave without trying some of their cake. Their matcha roll, filled with matcha cream and azuki bean paste, was light and fluffy and extremely moreish. And like many Japanese cakes, not too sweet – which was a very welcome respite from all the rich Christmas treats.
We took the last portion of the matcha cake and I was greatly tickled by the sad rabbit sign put up afterwards!
Mochi was also available and we went for the matcha mochi filled with azuki bean paste and whipped cream. This was amazingly fresh – all soft and chewy (chew well, folks!) and the whipped cream lightened the texture of the entire sweet.
There’s a menu del dia at lunchtime and they’re also open in the evenings (but not till very late at night – best to check Google Maps for opening times on the day). We’ll be back for sure.
Usagui
Carrer de les Santjoanistes, 28
Barcelona
Catalonia
Thu, 4 Jan, 2018 at 10:13
The rabbit spoon rest is adorable too! Sounds like such a nice meal.
Thu, 8 Mar, 2018 at 08:47
Your photos and tips look awesome to me! Appreciate the article and kind words!
Sat, 8 Sep, 2018 at 18:58
Thanks for this post! I ate here during my BCN vacation because of this post, and it ended up being my favorite meal.
Thu, 23 May, 2019 at 02:16
Thanks for the review. I’m going to try this place next time I’m in Barcelona.
Tue, 20 Aug, 2019 at 13:01
“Nice info!”
Wed, 27 Nov, 2019 at 06:12
Superb site to visit. Nice recipes. thanks so much for sharing this with me. http://fairlifeindia.com/
Fri, 25 Mar, 2022 at 17:21
I just came back from a travel in Portugal. So true with being extra cautious about packing when traveling solo! But honestly I had the BEST time ever traveling! So glad I was able to blog the entire trip!